# Anyone keep their sticks at 60RH? Too low?



## loki993 (Sep 25, 2010)

Im not really saying Im gonna try this, but lately my Humi has been lower then normal. Don't know I guess it could be the hydro too, because I use beads. I also haven't experienced any issues with the way the cigars are smoking either. It was solid for a good while, but now its started fluctuating. anyway

The real question is that does anyone keep their sticks at a lower then the "recommended" 65? I believe that cubans are supposed to be kept at 60RH right?

This morning I was 60 63 on my hydro, which is about 3 high so it was right at 60. I added some water to my beads, even though they seemed fine, but its not a huge concern really. I have some Ligas in there that are supposed to smoke better at a lower RH anyway. 


What Ive seemed to gather is that if your RH is gonna be off its definitely better to be low then high. 

What do you all think?


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## DSturg369 (Apr 6, 2008)

For smoking, 60% is great. But for storage and/or aging, 65% is the sweet spot.


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## Rock31 (Sep 30, 2010)

61-62 for me.

My wineador has some boxes that are resting, that is right around 64.


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## WilsonRoa (Dec 20, 2010)

I'm between 60-65% I try not go higher than 65%.


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## FridayGt (Oct 24, 2010)

Yeah, for smoking, especially a cigar with a lot of ligero, low 60's is my personal butter zone. Good benefit to multiple humi's.


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## Nathan King (Nov 4, 2010)

I store my cigars between 60 and 63 percent relative humidity. I feel they smoke wonderfully - my friends agree. Especially with the high end Dominican cigars, the lower humidity seems to eliminate a very slight bitterness present at levels approaching 70%.


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## bc8436 (Feb 12, 2011)

I know a few people who store their cigars at 60%, but the majority of their collection are CCs. I've also heard the claim that storing at 60% slows down the aging effect and helps to prolong the life of the cigars, though I have no personal experience with this.

Personally I've had good success at 65% with Heartfelt beads. However, with my new Avallo setup I've decided to go slightly slower at around 62-63%. 

As for dry-boxing, I prefer a humidity of around 55%.


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## Stinkdyr (Jun 19, 2009)

I now aim all my stix at the range of 60-62.


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## CALIFORNIA KID (Nov 21, 2010)

I will move a stick into a 60rh humi about 3-4 days before I enjoy it, its just a way to less aggressively dry box. It allows it to burn a little better, and some say it improves the taste.

As far as long term its a little low.... wouldn't want to go below 62rh ideally 65-70 depending on your colection

I would be more concerned about constant fluctuation more than low. I would rather have my rh at 60 and constant rather than 55 today 65 tomorrow and 60 the day after that.

How big is your humi.
How many cigars are in it.
How many beads are in it.

Try adding more beads. What ever is recommended try using 150 - 200% of that.
as well as what are you beads in. Are your beads to compacted to each other? It may be necessary to spread your beads out a little in order to increases the surface area.

my two cents.


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## Habanolover (Feb 22, 2006)

May serious collectors store in the mid 50's. 60 will be fine for storage whether long term or short.


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

60% for Cubans

63-65% for everything else


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## Zfog (Oct 16, 2010)

I used to store all my cigars at 65, now I am dead on 60%.


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## CALIFORNIA KID (Nov 21, 2010)

Habanolover said:


> May serious collectors store in the mid 50's. 60 will be fine for storage whether long term or short.


I would take Habanolover's advice over mine. He has a lot more experience than I do.


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## dreamspeed (Sep 20, 2010)

I like to keep mine around 60-65. Usually if something goes bad it's better to have it drier than too wet


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## Zfog (Oct 16, 2010)

dreamspeed said:


> I like to keep mine around 60-65. Usually if something goes bad it's better to have it drier than too wet


Generally I would prefer to wet than to dry. As long as they don't get moldy, wet sticks can dry out. But dry sticks may never bounce back.


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## loki993 (Sep 25, 2010)

bc8436 said:


> I know a few people who store their cigars at 60%, but the majority of their collection are CCs. I've also heard the claim that storing at 60% slows down the aging effect and helps to prolong the life of the cigars, though I have no personal experience with this.
> 
> Personally I've had good success at 65% with Heartfelt beads. However, with my new Avallo setup I've decided to go slightly slower at around 62-63%.
> 
> As for dry-boxing, I prefer a humidity of around 55%.


Yeah Im using the beads too. How exactly do you dry box? Or is it self explanatory? It kinds seems like it is.



CALIFORNIA KID said:


> I will move a stick into a 60rh humi about 3-4 days before I enjoy it, its just a way to less aggressively dry box. It allows it to burn a little better, and some say it improves the taste.
> 
> As far as long term its a little low.... wouldn't want to go below 62rh ideally 65-70 depending on your colection
> 
> ...


I have I think a 75 ct humi, its pretty full, I havent counted maybe 50 sticks in it.

I have a half pound in there. a quarter was double I believe. It was rock solid for a good while thats why Im inclined to suspect the hydro first. but the temp in the house has changed as were getting into the warmer months now too. Here in michigan though weve had 50-60 degree days followed right by 30 degree days again so the temp in the house is fluctuating a good bit too. So I dont know.


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## eNthusiast (Dec 4, 2009)

i would prefer lower rh as well. i'm smoking a churchill right now and now at the second half all the condensation has built up and it's soggy.


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## kansashat (Mar 13, 2004)

I have preferred my rh @55-65% for a while now. The tobacco just tastes better to me at around 60%. I discovered this gradually. My wine coolerdors require water maybe once a year & over the winter the rh had dropped to 55-59% rh & I noticed the cigars were holding up well & tasting better than they had in a long time.

I did add some water recently & am running at about 65% right now. My cigars don't taste quite as good, but I feel less paranoid about the rh.


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## loki993 (Sep 25, 2010)

eNthusiast said:


> i would prefer lower rh as well. i'm smoking a churchill right now and now at the second half all the condensation has built up and it's soggy.


Ive had a few cigars that were "wet" Id say. Generally from a couple B&Ms that keep their humis a bit on the high side. They tasted a but musty, on top of that they didnt have much flavor really and were really hard to draw. So now I can tell when a cigar is too wet.


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## CALIFORNIA KID (Nov 21, 2010)

loki993 said:


> Ive had a few cigars that were "wet" Id say. Generally from a couple B&Ms that keep their humis a bit on the high side. They tasted a but musty, on top of that they didnt have much flavor really and were really hard to draw. So now I can tell when a cigar is too wet.


it's a pretty common practice for B&M's to have there rh closer to 70-72 because they are opened so often.

online retailers also tend to be on the higher side because the plan on them being shipped without humidification.

this is why is is necessary to let your cigars rest for at least a month before smoking them. some people say a year but to be this is more aging them rather than resting them.


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## havanajohn (Apr 4, 2009)

Habanolover said:


> May serious collectors store in the mid 50's. 60 will be fine for storage whether long term or short.





Herf N Turf said:


> 60% for Cubans
> 
> 63-65% for everything else


+1... Donnie, and Don are spot on!


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## MoreBeer (Feb 13, 2010)

I keep my smoking rotation humi's right near 60% and my cigars taste and burn great. As others might have said (not sure as I didn't read thread), long-term storage at 65% - 70%. I tend to long-term my sticks a bit high, near 70% and then bring them down for a few weeks prior to torching them up. WuRkS 4 mE!


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

60-63 works great for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## chasingstanley (Jan 24, 2011)

I keep my CC's @ 63% Religiously...


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## BMack (Dec 8, 2010)

I'm pretty stable at 62% RH. I need a "wet box" though, something at 68-70% RH for some select cigars.


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## Chris R (Jun 10, 2009)

I like to keep my habanos anywhere from 58-62% as they seem to smoke better in that range but my NCs seem to do better from 64-66%. YMMV


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## loki993 (Sep 25, 2010)

BMack said:


> I'm pretty stable at 62% RH. I need a "wet box" though, something at 68-70% RH for some select cigars.


What cigars smoke better that high?



Chris R said:


> I like to keep my habanos anywhere from 58-62% as they seem to smoke better in that range but my NCs seem to do better from 64-66%. YMMV


Yeah right around there is good for me. Ive seen a lot of people say the Ligas smoke way better at an even lower RH though. The ones Ive had have been fine though.


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## orca99usa (May 23, 2008)

I keep mine at 65% with Heartfelt beads. As far as 60% being too dry, if your sticks smoke the way you want them to and taste good, it works for you.


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## Mr. Slick (Aug 17, 2010)

63% for me. Some sticks may smoke better higher and some lower but I feel that 63% is a good all around middle of the row rh. 

I have found that if I have some bead containers in my humi that I never add water to, and some other bead containers that I add water to when necessary it helps prevent fluctuations in rh.


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## BMack (Dec 8, 2010)

loki993 said:


> What cigars smoke better that high?


Tatuaje La Verite/L'esprit de La Verite
Some Oliva(definitely not V)
Some CAO

I'm sure there are more but that's all I can think of.


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## str8dog (Mar 30, 2011)

65% and dry box


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## Piledriver (Sep 23, 2008)

I keep mine at about 63%. I prefer a drier stick rather than a over humidified stick which tends to lead to to draw problems.


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## Chief2112 (Apr 23, 2011)

Good thread. I just got a new 150 ct box (after buying my first box a month ago which was only a 25 ct...that didn't last long...lol) and proceeded to put my 65% beads in there after I got it seasoned. 

It was a little weird because it settled down to 65% really quick but after a few days jumped up to 67% and stayed there for a little while. Now, for the last few days, it's been sitting at 63%. As someone who kept their sticks at around 70% years ago when I last had a humidor, the lower number was making me a little paranoid. 

I have a few Anejos, OpusX and Ashton VSG sticks in there that I really don't want to mess up. From reading this thread it seems most everyone is happy with anything between 62-65% so my mind is at ease a little bit at least.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Mid 60's are safe and I know the majority tend to keep their stock of CC's at 62 and Non CC's around 65. I used to do that but my own taste tends to run higher..starting at 65 on up to 70 and because I like the taste of my cigars at that RH. I've read a lot where short filler tobacco tends to thrive at lower RH while long filler tobacco thrives at a higher RH..some even say as high as 75 ( I don't advocate this at all ) and what is important in general is to keep our cigars in a stable consistent environment..between 60 and 70 and that is totally dependent on your tastes.


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## Shark Bait (Apr 23, 2011)

Great post, I always read that 70% was where they should be kept though everybody has their own opinion on this.


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## lebz (Mar 26, 2011)

I switched to Beads (from HeartFelt) from the a sponge.. so I am now sitting 65%.. I found my smokes are have a better burn and taste great!


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## lukesparksoff (Apr 21, 2010)

MoreBeer said:


> I keep my smoking rotation humi's right near 60% and my cigars taste and burn great. As others might have said (not sure as I didn't read thread), long-term storage at 65% - 70%. I tend to long-term my sticks a bit high, near 70% and then bring them down for a few weeks prior to torching them up. WuRkS 4 mE!


+1 I keep my humidor between 65-68%,I can always dry box them. Some cigars like La Gloria Cubana ,CAO Brazilia taste better on the wet side of 65%,but others like Opus x ,and Liga Privada the dry side of 65% is a better smoke. Me personally would stay above 60% and below 70% ,play around with it until you find out what taste best for you .


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## BKDW (Nov 7, 2009)

The H2000 and Cameroon wrappers seem to dig 70% (or higher).

The other ones like lower....

One cigar I love likes to be smoked real wet.... almost to the point where you can chew it like gum. The flavor really comes out then. It does not taste that good when stored under 65%... it is almost dog rocket when around 60%. 

To be safe, the others are kept at around 65-66%


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## StogieNinja (Jul 29, 2009)

So the answer is.... there's no right answer! 

I smoked a RP Edge maduro last night at 63% and it was great. I've always kept my 50ct humidor at 67%, but the new Drymistat tubes I got lowered the rH to 63%, even with three of them in there. Turns out, that was an ok thing.


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## chasingstanley (Jan 24, 2011)

WilsonRoa said:


> I'm between 60-65% I try not go higher than 65%.


+1.


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